Photo by Edmee Hasler
The Lord Botetourt boys will open the 2024 portion of their basketball schedule tonight with a Blue Ridge District home game against Staunton River. It will be the district debut for the Cavaliers, who open the new year with a 5-5 record after splitting two games at Spotswood High School in Penn Laird last week.
The Cavaliers opened the two-day event with a 67-62 win over Staunton in overtime. This was a back-and-forth game, as LB trailed 18-12 after the first quarter but outscored Staunton 39-22 in the second and third to build a 51-40 lead after three quarters. They let the lead slip away in the fourth quarter, sending the game into overtime, before bouncing back to outscore Staunton 7-2 in the extra period and get the win.
“After a slow start, we played some of our best basketball of the season against a scrappy Staunton team,” said Botetourt coach Andrew Hart. “Although we made some mistakes late to give up a fourth quarter lead, I was proud of the guys for responding in overtime and pulling out a big win. Blake Lovern has really come on strong for us in the last several games.”
Lovern was 9 for 14 from the floor to score 25 points for LB, adding four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Brayden Wells had 16 points and Carson Edwards had 11 points and 14 rebounds.
On Saturday the Cavaliers played a solid Eastern Mennonite High and dropped a 77-48 decision. Braydon Don was the only Cavalier in double figures with a dozen points.
“We just didn’t have much going for us in this game against a strong team,” said Hart. “We’re hoping to improve our consistency in the second half of the season so we can compete in some really big games. We are looking forward to the challenge.”
After tonight’s home game with Staunton River the Cavaliers will be at William Byrd on Friday, then they’re back home to host William Fleming next Tuesday, January 9.
